Psaki: US Didn't Have Long-Term Plan for Iraqi Sunnis Under Hillary

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki admitted that the US did not “have a long-term plan” for Sunni tribes in Iraq to be engaged with the Iraqi Security Forces during Hillary Clinton’s time at the State Department on Friday’s “America’s Newsroom” on the Fox News Channel.  

“There are things that we are doing differently. The Iraq government, I should say, the Iraqi government is doing differently. A couple of years ago when we worked with Sunni tribes we didn’t have a long-term plan for them to be a part of or engaged in what the Iraqi Security Forces were doing. Now we’re working with them to put a national guard in place, so they can be incorporated over the long-term,” she said, adding that the US is taking a “slightly different approach” in Iraq.

Psaki also re-iterated prior claims that political forces in Iraq kept the US from leaving a residual force, and that such a force would not have made a difference.  She stated there were “events that led us into being unable to have a troop presence there at the time. Regardless, it wouldn’t have changed the circumstance we are in today.” And “it would not have mattered. They [the Iraqi government] did not want to have troops in Iraq. They weren’t willing to take the steps needed. It wasn’t going to get through parliament. It was clear at the time, that the politics just were not aligned with making this happen.”

(h/t Washington Free Beacon)

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